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According to Fox News, the boy, Dominic Gainey, was spotted by someone as he strolled near the park; and police were consequently called to the Port St. Lucie Park. Dominic was then escorted home, where his mother, Nicole Gainey, was charged and arrested with child neglect.

An Ohio dad was arrested last month and lost his job … after his 8-year-old son turned up at a park. The boy was supposed to have boarded a church van, but skipped out, unbeknownst to his father.

In another case in South Carolina, a mother was arrested and spent 17 days in jail after she left her nine-year-old daughter to play at a popular neighborhood park while she went to work.

The Port St. Lucie Cali State’s Attorney’s Office confirms that there are no laws prohibiting a child from walking alone to the park, and says that charges of neglect are reviewed on a case-by-case basis.

While some would argue that one cannot determine the maturity of a child based on their physical age, others might say that anything could have happened to Dominic as he roamed the streets alone.

The question still remains: how much control should authorities have when it comes to how parents rear their children?